Title: The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1)
Author: Renée Ahdieh 
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Pages: 416
Source: ARC provided by publisher

Overall: 5 Stars

Summary:

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.  

My Thoughts:  
Breathlessly romantic and utterly captivating, Renée Ahdieh's The Wrath and the Dawn is an unforgettable YA debut. When I first learned The Wrath and the Dawn was inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, I instantly added the book to my must-read list. I absolutely loved immersing myself in an unfamiliar world with its own diverse culture, customs, and history. Renée Ahdieh's lush, sumptuous descriptions of Khorasan completely bring the story to life off the pages.

Nobody understands why eighteen-year-old Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan, murders his young wives, only that none ever survive past dawn of their wedding night. When brave and impulsive Shahrzad volunteers to become Khalid's new bride, she's fully aware it's a death sentence, but she is determined to avenge her best friend's death, no matter the consequences it will bring to her or her family.

Alone and surrounded by strangers in Khalid's extravagant and intimidating palace, Shahrzad devises a clever plan to stay alive. Each night, she weaves tales of danger and adventure, hoping it's enough to mesmerize the caliph and survive another day to plot his death. But the longer Shahrzad remains in the palace, the more she finds herself increasingly torn between her growing feelings for Khalid and loyalty to her friend's memory.

I wasn't all too sure how Renée Ahdieh could make me completely fall for Khalid, considering the role he's played in his wives' deaths, but she truly did find a way. The most powerful man in Khorasan, the burden of responsibility is a heavy one for Khalid. He's not the distant and imposing figure he tries to be, but a man of flesh and blood with a passionate heart. When you finally discover the truth of his actions, the motivations that drove him to commit seemingly unforgivable acts, your heart will break for him. Trust me.

And the ending! THAT CRAZY ENDING! How could you do that to us, Renée Ahdieh!? After I turned the final page, I was left with a deep sense of awe and a burning desire to learn what fate had in store next for Shazi and Khalid. The Rose and the Dagger will most definitely be on my list of anticipated reads for 2016. In the meantime, I will simply have to reread The Wrath and the Dawn and lose myself in the feels all over again.

Thanks so much to Penguin Random House Canada for providing this review copy!